Fire extinguisher with a single delivery tube



Jud 29. 1924.

R. C. .IDDINGS FIRE EXTINGUISHER WITH A SINGLE DELIVERY'TUBE' OriginalFiled April 10. 191s v IlVl/ ENTOR.

Jt/W$7F(' ZT%N Y Patented July 29, 1924.

TED sTAEs PATENT OFFICE.

:eosoon o. Inn-Ines, or narrow, oHIo, nssreivoa 'ro THE rye-a rmenCOMPANY, or DAYTON, OHIO, a CORPORATION or onro.

F'IR-EjEXTI'NGUISHER WITH A SINGLE DELIVERY TUBE.

Applieation filed April 10, 1919, Serial No. -2 88,331. Renewed December31 1923.

Tortlt whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, Rosoon 0. homes, residing at Dayton, Ohio, haveinvented certain new and usefulImprovements in Fire Extinguishers withSingle Delivery Tubes, of which the following is a full, clear,.and

I exact description.

My present, invention relates to an improvement 1n fire extlnguishers ofthe small portable type and has for its principal object to produce anextinguisher having much fewer parts than extinguishers adapted tosimilar service usually have. With this object in view I have made thecontainer for the fireextinguishing agent in a unique form, andwithin-this container there is a pump whereby its contents is dischargedat a; nozzle. A single flexible delivery tube is employed totake thecontents from the container, Where. in many other extinguishers two suchdelivery tubes are required and a rather elaborate gravity valvemechanism for cutting off the one of the tubes which happens tobeuppermost and therefore liable to be unsubmerged. My new container isflat and approximately segmental in form, and by its peculiar shape, andsuspending the delivery tube within it so that by gravity its mouth ismade to constantly seek the lowermost portion of the perimeter ofthesegment, I am enable to dispense with this. valve mechanism and one.of the de livery tubes and yet discharge all of its con tents, no matterat hat angle it may be necessary to hold the container to throw thecontents on a fire. In order to give the con tainer the requiredcapacity without extending certain of its dimensions unduly I havearranged the flexible delivery tube to oscillate about its point ofsuspension while the position of the container is within certain angularlimits and to swing around points of smaller radius when the angularityof the container exceeds said limits. And I have made the perimeterofsuch form that the distance between it and the mouth of the deliverytube will be substantially the same whether the tube is swinging freelyfrom its supporting center or is engagedwithand bent around one of theauxiliary centers. The container being flat and the space between thesides only about sufficient to admit the pump, even a small're'mnant ofits contents will be concentrated around the.

Fig. 2 shows the container rocked to a po sition where one of thestaysis' about to engage the tube.

Fig. 3 shows the container rocked 90 degrees from the position seen inFig. 1. Referring now to the drawing, the container comprises two flatwalls 10 joined by perimetrical walls 11' and 12. Rods or stays 13 servethe double purpose of tying the walls 10 together to prevent theirbulging and as auxiliary centers for the flexible tube 16 to bendaround. Other devices may be used for the latter purpose, and if desiredthe stays may be located elsewhere or dispensed with if the walls aremade sufficiently rigid. A reciprocating pump l t located in the upperor straight part of the container, is used to eject the contents of thecontainer at the nozzle 15, the fluid entering the flexible tube 16 atits mouth 17, whence it is conveyed by tubes 18 and 19 to the nozzle.The pump is fully described in my application Serial No. 288,933 of evendate herewith. As an assistance in holding the container when the pumpis being operated handles 20 and 21 are provided. The tube 16, whichcarries a weight 22 at its free end, is attached to and supported by theelbow 28,- which in. turn is supported by the pump. If the stays 13 wereomitted the tube would readily sweep the perimeter of the containerthrough an arc of 180, or even more. But the path of the mouth of thetube would not be quite arcual. This is because of the gradualvshortening of the tube as it bends either way from its median position.So each way from its median position the contour of the container ispreferably slightly spiral. I have found, however, that to allow for theunobstructed movement of the tube requires a container of undesirablelength, so to shortenthe container I place the stays 13 in the path ofthe tube. Where the tubeencounters either of the stays it bends aroundit. This substitution of a shorter radius of swing for the tube at eachend of the container efiects a very considerable reduction in itslength.- The portions 12 of the perlmeter, which are the parts swept bythe tube while it is in contact with the stays, are also made'slightlyspiral, .with the result that whether the tube is swinging free betweenthe stays or its bending around one of them its mouth is a uniform,distance from the perimeter, whatever the position of the container.

Two types of pump are used in fire extinguishers, one of which, as inthe present case, stores air under pressure in the container which airejects the contents, while the other type of pump draws fluid from thecontainer to its cylinder and on the return stroke ejects it at thenozzle This type of pump may also be used in my improved container, Inthe former type the stays prevent the walls from bulging and enable thewalls to be lighter than they otherwise would need tobe; but in caseitis desired to omit the stays, or locate them where they are notavailable for co-operation with the tube 16, other means may be employedfor controlling the movements of the tube.

lVhile I have shown the container in combination with a pump forexpelling the 0011- tents, it is obvious that it may be used incombination with other of the well known devices for ejecting fireextinguishing fluid from a container. That is, it may be usedincombination with any means whereby the contents is ejected bypressure'within the container. Other modifications might also bemadewithin the scope of my claims.

What I claim is as follows:-

1. 'A fire extinguisher, comprising a fluid container of flat andapproximately segmental i'orm, with stays uniting the flat sides toprevent their bulging; in combination with a pump, a flexible tubeconnected to said pump and suspended from a point in the container whichapproximates the axis of the segment so that its lower end may by ofsuch form that the mouth of the tube will be substantially the samedistance from it whether the tube is hanging free of the stays or isbent around either of them.

2. A fire extinguisher comprising a fluid container of flat andapproximately segmental form, in combination with a pump, a flexibletube connected to said pump and suspended from a point in the container.'which approximates the axis of the segment and around which said tubeis adapted to oscillate as a center, and means for compelling the tubeto oscillate around a point of smaller radiuswhen the inclination ofsaid container exceeds a certain angle, the perimeter oi the containerbeing of such form that the mouth of the tube will be substantially thesame distance from it whether the tube is hanging tree from its supportor is under the control of one of said centers of smaller radius.

3. A fire extinguisher comprising a fluid container of flat andapproximately segmental form, with stays uniting the fiat sides toprevent their bulging; in combination with a flexible tube suspendedfrom a point in the container which approximates the axis of thesegment, so that its lower end may by gravity seek the perimeter of thecontainer, said tube hanging between at least two of said stays, aroundwhich it bends when the inclination of the container exceeds a certaindegree, the perimeter of the container being of such form that the mouthof the tube will be substantially the same distance from it whether thetube is hanging free of the stays or is bent around either of them; anozzle in communication with the fixed end of the tube and means forejecting the contents of the container through said tube and nozzle.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

ROSCOE O. IDDINGS.

W itnesses VALTER J. BLENKO, H. W. LINARD.

